Dude, Where's My house(s)?
Discussion
Another update from living in an old house - Last night, a scratching noise appeared at the wood burner. We have had a couple of fledglings kamikaze into windows over the last 2 days, so we assume a baby bird has gone down the chimney. It was late, and I thought, perhaps naively, that it might find its way out overnight. A fire toolset had conveniently been ordered the day before and was due to arrive the next day.
Morning arrives and the occasional scratch has now developed a squawk. it's getting angrier. With the kids packed off and at school I covered the area with old sheets and started dismantling the wood burner. I got to the stage where I could see past the baffles and was greeted not by the baby bluetit I had envisioned, but by a great big angry crow.
The plan was for me to lower the upper baffle and for the missus to catch it in a towel, then redeploy the Coloeus monedula (Western jackdaw) outside. Alas, the best-laid plans ended in screeching from both our new feathered lodger and our intrepid chimney sweep. (Me).
The crow decided to make a pitstop at the library before flying out the window. Fortunately not headbutting it or pooing on anything.
Now, how to re-assemble and clean a wood-burning stove.
Morning arrives and the occasional scratch has now developed a squawk. it's getting angrier. With the kids packed off and at school I covered the area with old sheets and started dismantling the wood burner. I got to the stage where I could see past the baffles and was greeted not by the baby bluetit I had envisioned, but by a great big angry crow.
The plan was for me to lower the upper baffle and for the missus to catch it in a towel, then redeploy the Coloeus monedula (Western jackdaw) outside. Alas, the best-laid plans ended in screeching from both our new feathered lodger and our intrepid chimney sweep. (Me).
The crow decided to make a pitstop at the library before flying out the window. Fortunately not headbutting it or pooing on anything.
Now, how to re-assemble and clean a wood-burning stove.
Prizam said:
I hope you all had a productive weekend, mine was not quite as productive as I had hoped. but still managed to get a couple of small jobs done.
I cleaned up some brickwork and cleaned up then painted a corner of the house that I think is letting in some penetrating damp.
2 pictures in 1... look at my bricks, and... what should I do with this oak door? Sand it and oil it? Any recommendations?
That door isn't an easy thing to sand in situ. Certainly not if you want something that looks neat. If the majority of the varnish is holding then perhaps lightly scrape away the bits that are flaking and apply a coat of varnish there. Once fully dried, rub over the whole door and apply a couple more coats of varnish. That's just my opinion though.I cleaned up some brickwork and cleaned up then painted a corner of the house that I think is letting in some penetrating damp.
2 pictures in 1... look at my bricks, and... what should I do with this oak door? Sand it and oil it? Any recommendations?
RustyMX5 said:
That door isn't an easy thing to sand in situ. Certainly not if you want something that looks neat. If the majority of the varnish is holding then perhaps lightly scrape away the bits that are flaking and apply a coat of varnish there. Once fully dried, rub over the whole door and apply a couple more coats of varnish. That's just my opinion though.
Out of interest, why would it be hard to sand in situ? just the angles? It wouldn't be that difficult for me to take off, although I suspect it's very heavy.Fast Bug said:
I've had good results with Osmo's product line. It's not the cheapest, but seems to be holding up well around my house so far
The oil woodstain stuff? I'm assuming it's ok for oak? I would be tempted to use the clear finish. but would need to get the door very well sanded first.Prizam said:
The oil woodstain stuff? I'm assuming it's ok for oak? I would be tempted to use the clear finish. but would need to get the door very well sanded first.
I've used Osmo on a garage door (oak) to good effect, albeit starting to weather now after about 6 years. Worked better on that wood than some softwood I used for some garden furniture, but I suspect part of the difference is about the aspect as well as the material. And yes, definitely a thought sanding.Prizam said:
RustyMX5 said:
That door isn't an easy thing to sand in situ. Certainly not if you want something that looks neat. If the majority of the varnish is holding then perhaps lightly scrape away the bits that are flaking and apply a coat of varnish there. Once fully dried, rub over the whole door and apply a couple more coats of varnish. That's just my opinion though.
Out of interest, why would it be hard to sand in situ? just the angles? It wouldn't be that difficult for me to take off, although I suspect it's very heavy.I would avoid chemical strippers like Nitromors as that will strip any moisture out of the wood and you might end up with warping.
Another option might be to sand the flat areas and then use a heat gun and scraper to deal with the fiddly angles. Then a light hand sand with something like 240 grit just to get things even. After that oiling with Danish or Tung Oil and a few coats of Epifanes (2 pot Polyurethane) and maybe a couple of Woodfinish Gloss or Extra Clear to finish. Note that drying times mean that you'd need to start in the morning for it to be dry in the evening. Alternatively you could use a varnish called Le Tonkinois which is very oily and fairly flexible.
Prizam said:
Out of interest, why would it be hard to sand in situ? just the angles? It wouldn't be that difficult for me to take off, although I suspect it's very heavy.
Lol, you'll think it's very heavy now but by the time you're done with a project that size it'll probably be no more daunting than a kitchen cabinet door is today.EmBe said:
markymarkthree said:
Get the Osmo UV stuff. I used it on my oak porch, front and rear doors. Brilliant stuff.
Osmo is very good and pretty hard wearing,but make sure you go for the specific outdoor UV one and be prepared to wince at the price.Updates on ground clearance. or lack of.
This weekend was all about getting access to the land, if nothing else then I wanted to be able to walk the perimeter, I think I almost achieved this.
So far my efforts have been limited to a petrol strimmer with an oversized brushcutter attachment. I have made good progress but it all became too much for little chopper. First, the handles started to fall off, and then bits of cast metal sheered off. I fixed these with bolts and new holes. but it was not enough to keep the little chopper in the game, the engine finally seized up.
After the ceremony, I went and found someone who would rent me something a little bigger. Enter big chopper.
Absolutely useless!
I don't have pictures of the brambles, but it essentially rode up them insted of cutting them. I did manage to clear a reasonable amount, but it was so hard on the machine that it started showing signs of breaking. That, and wrestling it about was starting to hurt.
So I turned its attention to the fields... and it was equally as useless. this is about as far as I got.
Little chopper 2.0 is on order.
This weekend was all about getting access to the land, if nothing else then I wanted to be able to walk the perimeter, I think I almost achieved this.
So far my efforts have been limited to a petrol strimmer with an oversized brushcutter attachment. I have made good progress but it all became too much for little chopper. First, the handles started to fall off, and then bits of cast metal sheered off. I fixed these with bolts and new holes. but it was not enough to keep the little chopper in the game, the engine finally seized up.
After the ceremony, I went and found someone who would rent me something a little bigger. Enter big chopper.
Absolutely useless!
I don't have pictures of the brambles, but it essentially rode up them insted of cutting them. I did manage to clear a reasonable amount, but it was so hard on the machine that it started showing signs of breaking. That, and wrestling it about was starting to hurt.
So I turned its attention to the fields... and it was equally as useless. this is about as far as I got.
Little chopper 2.0 is on order.
Happy Jim said:
I’ve just about killed a rough cut mower (spinny roundy blade) and am thinking of getting a small walk behind flail mower - might be better?
The walk behind was supposed to be a flail mower but was a spinny blade. I might have just accidentally bought a tractor that comes with a topper/flail mower. hoping it's the flail type and not the spinny blades. it's big anyway, so it cant be any worse than the walk behind one.Don’t wish to burst your bubble but I bought a place that hadn’t been touched for about 20 years.
My son in law had a digger so we ran the blade straight up the drive to get rid of the trees that had seeded themselves and with continuing traffic they did not reappear.
The whole lawn was thick with bramble and small trees. After doing what you are doing I found to my horror that the bloody stuff keeps growing back - brambles are extremely vigorous.
Unless you immediately turn it into lawn and keep cutting it will keep coming back. You spend days clearing a big patch and two weeks later when you go for a wander it’s all overgrown again. We cleared a paddock with a different method. I got some thornproof chaps, some seriously good thick gloves and hacked out roots with a mattock - just sort of kept rolling forward until I could pile up a good amount and burn it. The whole family joined in and we cleared a large swathe a lot quicker than I believed possible. Took a week to do 3 acres but it never reappeared. Unless you remove the “knuckle” of root at the base of a bramble it will come back stronger. The bracken and nettles were a different kettle of fish but will succumb to spraying. Just don’t tell Greta.
As for tools I got a secondhand tractor (1968 vintage) and a 6’ topper for less than a grand. Sold on but still going strong. I made the mistake of getting a trailer very similar to yours that I found so flimsy it was binned eventually in favour of a transport box for the back of the tractor. Brilliant addition as long as you have all the hydraulic linkages on your machine. A tractor with PTO will also give you access to loads of other attachments which you can pick up cheap at farm machinery auctions/sales.
Fast forward to now and all the petrol kit I have has been replaced by battery stuff - you do need half a dozen batteries to keep you going for extended projects, especially brush cutting.
My son in law had a digger so we ran the blade straight up the drive to get rid of the trees that had seeded themselves and with continuing traffic they did not reappear.
The whole lawn was thick with bramble and small trees. After doing what you are doing I found to my horror that the bloody stuff keeps growing back - brambles are extremely vigorous.
Unless you immediately turn it into lawn and keep cutting it will keep coming back. You spend days clearing a big patch and two weeks later when you go for a wander it’s all overgrown again. We cleared a paddock with a different method. I got some thornproof chaps, some seriously good thick gloves and hacked out roots with a mattock - just sort of kept rolling forward until I could pile up a good amount and burn it. The whole family joined in and we cleared a large swathe a lot quicker than I believed possible. Took a week to do 3 acres but it never reappeared. Unless you remove the “knuckle” of root at the base of a bramble it will come back stronger. The bracken and nettles were a different kettle of fish but will succumb to spraying. Just don’t tell Greta.
As for tools I got a secondhand tractor (1968 vintage) and a 6’ topper for less than a grand. Sold on but still going strong. I made the mistake of getting a trailer very similar to yours that I found so flimsy it was binned eventually in favour of a transport box for the back of the tractor. Brilliant addition as long as you have all the hydraulic linkages on your machine. A tractor with PTO will also give you access to loads of other attachments which you can pick up cheap at farm machinery auctions/sales.
Fast forward to now and all the petrol kit I have has been replaced by battery stuff - you do need half a dozen batteries to keep you going for extended projects, especially brush cutting.
Prizam said:
After the ceremony, I went and found someone who would rent me something a little bigger. Enter big chopper.
Absolutely useless!
I don't have pictures of the brambles, but it essentially rode up them insted of cutting them. I did manage to clear a reasonable amount, but it was so hard on the machine that it started showing signs of breaking. That, and wrestling it about was starting to hurt.
So I turned its attention to the fields... and it was equally as useless. this is about as far as I got.
Little chopper 2.0 is on order.
Surprised you found that useless, it looks very similar to ours (which we really rate). My teenager cleared a load of scrub/brush with it the other day and it was going through 1” thick 6 ft tall saplings without difficulties…Absolutely useless!
I don't have pictures of the brambles, but it essentially rode up them insted of cutting them. I did manage to clear a reasonable amount, but it was so hard on the machine that it started showing signs of breaking. That, and wrestling it about was starting to hurt.
So I turned its attention to the fields... and it was equally as useless. this is about as far as I got.
Little chopper 2.0 is on order.
LooneyTunes said:
Prizam said:
After the ceremony, I went and found someone who would rent me something a little bigger. Enter big chopper.
Absolutely useless!
I don't have pictures of the brambles, but it essentially rode up them insted of cutting them. I did manage to clear a reasonable amount, but it was so hard on the machine that it started showing signs of breaking. That, and wrestling it about was starting to hurt.
So I turned its attention to the fields... and it was equally as useless. this is about as far as I got.
Little chopper 2.0 is on order.
Surprised you found that useless, it looks very similar to ours (which we really rate). My teenager cleared a load of scrub/brush with it the other day and it was going through 1” thick 6 ft tall saplings without difficulties…Absolutely useless!
I don't have pictures of the brambles, but it essentially rode up them insted of cutting them. I did manage to clear a reasonable amount, but it was so hard on the machine that it started showing signs of breaking. That, and wrestling it about was starting to hurt.
So I turned its attention to the fields... and it was equally as useless. this is about as far as I got.
Little chopper 2.0 is on order.
Tractor with flail mower is what I did and while it was expensive, it makes such light work acres of brambles and other rubbish - 6 foot brambles turned literally to dust!
Plus can do so many other things (log splitter, chipper, general moving of stuff) that I'd never want to be without it.
Not cheap, but so useful and buy right and they hold their value very well.
Plus can do so many other things (log splitter, chipper, general moving of stuff) that I'd never want to be without it.
Not cheap, but so useful and buy right and they hold their value very well.
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